


Disease Stricken

by OccasionalWriterHD



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crystal Gems, F/F, Fluff, Gay gems for days, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Nightmares, Sickness spread
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24515878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccasionalWriterHD/pseuds/OccasionalWriterHD
Summary: Once every few hundred years a virus sweaps across every colony in existence. No gem is left untouched and it leaves as fast as it came. Gems have figured out the best ways to cope with the virus and it became a routinely ordeal for the virus to come and go.How do our favourite gems cope with the disease? Will they come out fine or crack under pressure? Who knows! With such a chaotic group anything could happen. But alas, this story is about how the gems help each other with their symptoms. Gem fluff ahead!***Currently discontinued till further notice***
Relationships: Bismuth/Pearl (Steven Universe), Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Ruby/Sapphire (Steven Universe)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	1. Sickness Identified

**Author's Note:**

> This is totally not inspired by current real- life events. Okay I'm joking, if any of you are not comfortable with reading things that draw inspiration from the current Covid-19 situation this fic may not be for you. Otherwise, enjoy!
> 
> Trigger warning: Sickness, disease spread, nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven gets infected with some sort of disease. Will he turn out okay?

Gem Disease

Steven was not feeling alright. After warping back from Homeworld to settle another one of his diplomatic cases he decided to head back to Little Homeworld to check up on the new gems that arrived. As he was doing his rounds his body was beginning to hurt like crazy, his head began to spin and he felt weak and lethargic.

Something was definitely wrong.

Almost as if on cue a familiar Bismuth rounded the corner and spotted Steven - knees to the ground and clutching his head. The worried Bismuth immediately rushed over.

"Steven! Oh, you don't look so good,"

Steven was already starting to faint a little. "I don't know what's wrong...my head hurts and I don't feel so good..." 

"Alright buddy I better send you back to the temple, maybe you should see a human doctor while you're at it" Bismuth began to lift Steven from the ground, carrying him bridal style to the nearest warp pad.

The next few hours for Steven were excruciatingly uncomfortable. Between the on and off headaches and cramps in random areas it was very uncomfortable for Steven. He let out a groan before turning to face up from the clinic bed. The glaring lamps from above made him squint a little before his eyes adjusted to the blinding light. Soon, the door of the clinic finally opened.

"Doctor Maheswaran! How is Steven?"

"Yea how is my little Sch-tu ball doing?"

Greg and Pearl sat anxiously beside Steven, constantly checking on him. It was unanimously decided that Pearl and Greg were going to be the ones accompanying Steven since Greg was his father and that Pearl was free and responsible enough to join them.

"Good Afternoon Mrs. Pearl and Mr. Universe. According to my reports—" Doctor Maheswaran took a look at her clipboard once more, running a pen through her notes "—Steven doesn't seem to have anything wrong with him."

The situation was definitely bizarre. Steven was definitely not feeling well yet nothing was wrong with him according to Dr Maheswaran. "Could something be wrong with his gem?" The suggestion was certainly plausible, Pearl then began to gingerly lift Steven's shirt. She reached her hand out to examine his gem stone carefully before pulling her hand back swiftly.

"Goodness his gem is certainly burning up." An air of panic filled the room. This is the first time Steven has been hit with some sort of gem disease and they were not sure what was going to happen to him. Would his human side be alright? Could his gem heal? "Maybe we could take him to see some sort of gem doctor? Do you guys have anything like that?" Greg suggested. 

They decided to leave the building and think of a solution on the way back. The ride back was filled with bickering back and forth from Pearl and Greg while Steven was resting in the backseat. No one really knew what to do.

"The closest thing we have to a "doctor" are Peridots. They are the most knowledgeable about gemstones and certainly know a lot about gem sickness. Thankfully we do have a Peri- OH we are NOT letting Peridot check Steven! She's so...so, so???" Pearl began to panic once more. Greg and Pearl began to argue once again. Greg supporting the notion of letting Peridot give Steven a checkup while Pearl argued against it. The conversation lasted the entire car ride home until Steven had enough.

"Guys!" Pearl and Greg finally quietened down and turned to address Steven who began to speak in a slurred voice. "I'm the one that is sick so I'll be the one who decides who can check on me. I trust Peridot. Sure she may be a little over the place but she is very responsible when need be. I trust her." With that statement it was settled. With a dial of the phone Peridot was called to the temple. Now, all they could do was hope that Steven was going to be okay.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within an hour or so, a familiar duo showed up at the temple's doorstep. There stood two gems, the little green gremlin they were expecting and a Lapis Lazuli with a box of what seemed to be medical supplies.

"Peridot and Lapis! Thanks for coming on such a short notice—"

"Is Steven alright? Hurry up and let me check on him!" Peridot immediately rushed past Pearl and made a beeline straight to Steven. Pearl let Lapis in as well and the two of them joined the rest of the crystal gems who were here for Steven.

Steven was on his bed resting while Ruby and Sapphire watched over him. They decided to un-fuse so that Sapphire could ice his gem while Ruby and Greg were there to get whatever Steven needed. Bismuth and Amethyst were sitting on the couch trying to keep the spirits high with light conversations. Peridot wasted no time inspecting Steven's gem. Lapis began to unpack some of the equipment they had brought - Wires and monitors were removed from the box and everything was soon set up.

"Hmm... Interesting results," Peridot held her clipboard up, fingers running through her writings while she began to unhook Steven's gem from the machine.

"Well I have good news and bad news," Peridot shifted her visors. Everyone in the house gathered around Peridot as she delivered her findings

"Good news, Steven is going to be fine! Maybe...depends?" 

"What do you mean? Is he going to die?" Greg pulled at his hair. His worry for his son was understandable

"Well here's the bad news, it's the Gem Disease. The one that sweeps gem colonies every few hundred years. For us gems it's going to be fine, by now all of us probably already got it from Steven. Steven's case is... complicated since he is human." Peridot twirled her thumbs. The room let out a sigh of relief, now that they knew the cause of his sickness they could try to help Steven.

However, it is now highly likely that every gem in existence already has the virus.

"Well you guys know the drill. Use the different methods to treat your own gem and wait for it to pass'" Bismuth declared. The gems began to discuss what they were going to do and Peridot began to draft a message to send to the other colonies.

"Well that settles it. Me, Amethyst and Pearl will be in the forge, Lapis and Peridot will be at the barn while Ruby, Sapphire and Greg will stay in the temple!"

With that, the gems began to pack up and get worried for the lockdown. Before leaving Peridot produced her tape recorder and presented it to Greg. “Here you go Greg! Here is a compiled list of all the important notes on how to care for gems when they are sick. Some of these logs are older while some are very recent. Steven’s log should be the second or third, followed all the other gems. I knew this would come in handy!”

The tape recorder was left with Greg, along with Peridot’s equipment and some of the things Steven needed. With that, Greg took a seat next to Steven’s bed and pressed play.


	2. Steven Stirs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven begins to stir from his rest. Will he be okay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter serves as the chapter that sort of connects the other chapters later in this fic, hence why it is alot shorter then the others. Don't worry! Chapters will be updated soon :)

“Instructions Log for Gem Care. The infection which we call “Gem Virus” or “Gem disease” is a fast spreading, highly contagious virus that could spread to whole colonies within hours. However, different gems seem to react differently to it. Some gems get sick immediately, others take a few days. Some gems feel perfectly normal while others can risk cracks or losing their physical forms,”

"Diamonds are usually unaffected physically wise. However, records have shown that Diamonds experience pulsing in their gem and some minor waves of pain.’

“Steven’s case seems to exhibiting both gem pulsing and pain waves in terms of what human’s call...muscle cramps. I have connected Steven’s gem to this machine I managed to get from Homeworld, it provides thermal pulses to counter the heat pulses from Steven’s gem or something like that. The machine should settle everything since it has been proven to work on that yellow clod...anyways. Once the gem is hooked to the machine, we just need to wait the virus out. Do anything required to help with Steven’s human side. Peridot out!”

Peridot’s instructions were very clear and thankfully, it seems to be working. After a day Steven was feeling much better. After waking up from his nap he was greeted by Greg who had just came from the kitchen.

“Steven! How are you feeling? I brought you some soup,”

Steven was feeling much better already. While he was resting, he mainly had weird dreams that were mostly harmless. His pain began to cease within the first few hours and he felt good as new. After reassuring his dad, Steven accepted the bowl of soup and began to drink as he looked around the room. A small machine was set beside him with wires that connected to his gem, his body was plastered with muscle relief patches and none of the other gems were in sight.

“Don’t worry sch-tu ball. The gems have been split up and have been sent to different areas, Ruby and Sapphire are in their temple rooms while the others are either at Bismuth’s forge or at the barn. Here, maybe this would explain the situation better,” Greg pulled out Peridot’s tape recorder and passed it to Steven. He hit play and a familiar voice began to speak...


	3. Forge Shenanigans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bismuth, Pearl and Amethyst are down in the forge. Shenanigans ensue, obviously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is meant to be one of the light hearted chapters I had planned. The next one may be a little more angsty but don't worry, it all ends well. If anyone is confused. The monologue at the start of this story is Peridot's record.

“Pearls are by far the most diverse when it comes to what methods are used to treat them. Back in Era 1 and 2 it is believed that one of the most effective ways is to...coat the gemstone with salt??? WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE I DEMAND TO-” ###Static### “-My apologies for my outburst. As I was saying, the most effective way is to coat the gemstone with salt, best if it could be from the reef they were made in. Symptoms include poofing when triggered emotionally and weird regeneration patterns,” 

“Amethysts have been known to be quite unaffected by the virus surprisingly. The worst-case scenario is that they enter a sort of drunken like state, hand eye coordination becomes poor and are more...loose.” 

‘Bismuth's have reported feeling pain in their physical forms. Areas like their arms, legs, neck and chest are the most prone areas. Due to their lava-tolerant nature, soaking themselves in lava seems to soothe their pains.” 

...

“I have to give it to you P, if I had salt covering my gemstone, I would be hella pissed about it,’ Amethyst has been trying to hold in her jokes and laughs the entire day. To say Pearl looked funny was an understatement – She looked absolutely ridiculous. Pearl was wearing a loose, rainbow coloured shirt with black and white suspenders. Her shoes were replaced with flip flops similar to Steven’s and her hair has been done up in two pig tails. In other words, she looked like she belonged at Fun Land as a mascot yet kids will laugh at the sheer absurdity of her outfit. 

“How does this salt thing even work?” Amethyst questioned as she helped to put another layer of salt onto Pearl’s gemstone. 

“I honestly have no idea,” Pearl poked the layer on her gemstone gingerly. “I have to say, it feels...calming, relaxing or dare I say comfortable.” 

“Of course, you would actually enjoy it. No wonder you were so salty about you're damn outfit. Hehe...salty, get it? Because your gemstone is covered with salt and you’re always salty.” Pearl grumbled and let out a groan of annoyance. 

Bismuth tried to reassure Pearl, “Honestly Pearl, you look...fine. At least you are wearing something decent and not butt ass naked” 

“I'm sure you would love to see Pearl with lesser clothes” Amethyst wiggled her eyebrows at the now blushing pair. Pearl buried her head in her hands while Bismuth looked away, trying to focus on an otherwise very uninteresting part of a wall. 

Out of nowhere, Pearl poofs. 

Amethyst began howling with laughter and Bismuth let out a hearty laugh. “I can’t believe it Bis, she even poofs when she's flustered!’ 

“Amethyst do your job and keep her gemstone salted. Otherwise I will kick you out of my forge,” 

“Yea, I'm sure you two would love some alone time. I’m here to make sure you two don’t start going to town on each other while you’re sick, -” Amethyst glanced over at Pearl’s gemstone. “- then again, I’m sure Pearl can’t stay in her physical form for more than 3 seconds in the love-seat,” The two gems shared a laugh before Amethyst went over to salt Pearl’s gemstone. 

“Anyways, how are you holding up over there Bis,” 

“Could be better, my arms are a little sore but it's nothing much honestly,” 

“Good to hear, thank the stars we managed to stop by the reef to get this damn salt water and dry it out here before all of us went into lockdown.” Amethyst picked up a handful of salt and began to add another layer of salt onto the gemstone. 

“Well, we got to give Lapis some credit. She did carry all that water from the reef and flew it back for us, we probably should thank her after this whole thing passes,” Bismuth looked over at the Pearl’s now shinning gemstone. A bright, pulsing light began to emit from her gem 

“Looks like she's up, I bet you 5 dollars she's going to look like a mess,” Amethyst joked. 

“I have faith in my warrior, I say she's gonna look smoking hot,” Bismuth replied 

“Ya right, she's gonna look like a clown-” The gemstone began to grow brightly before rising from the ground, the light began to shape into a fluctuating form before solidifying into a familiar gem. “Like my new look?” Pearl gave a sly grin 

Pearl was now donning a black suit similar to the one she wore back when she went to Empire City with Greg and Steven. Her top hat has been replaced with a fedora and her bow tie has been swapped out with a light blue ascot tie. Her hands have white finger-less gloves and she carries a cane. 

“Why are you so extra,” Amethyst groaned and placed a 5-dollar bill into Bismuth’s wallet. Meanwhile Bismuth was speechless and could not take her eyes off her significant other. No one blames her, Pearl looked really damn fine. “How did you even choose what you were going to wear, isn’t your gem nuts from the virus?” 

“It took a lot of concentration, patience and I it was much easier since I did not need to come up with anything new,” Pearl spun her cane and tipped her fedora. “Besides, the fact that I am such a stylish gem did play a part in this matter.” Pearl smirked and placed the fedora back on her head. 

“I could get used to this,” Bismuth commented as she began to get out of the lava pool. 

“Bismuth what are you doing! You need to rest,’ Pearl protested as Bismuth began to make her way over to Pearl. 

“I want to get a better view of my smoking hot girlfriend, and that’s speaking a lot coming from a gem that came out of a lava pool,” Bismuth flirted and shot Pearl a wink. 

Suddenly the suave and cool Pearl was at a loss for words and a blushing mess. 

“I... uh-words don’t-work-” And with that statement she poofed once again. The salt flaked off her gemstone and she was once again back to her dormant form. Amethyst began to laugh once again while Bismuth was blushing furiously from what just happened. 

“Now I’m wishing this damn virus is a normal thing, I could watch this all day,” 

“Mind your own bismuth Amethyst’” 

“God your puns are terrible’” 

With that, Amethyst once again had to coat Pearl’s gemstone with salt while Bismuth sat back into the lava pool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N What do yall think? Hope you guys liked this chapter. Did I write this during a lesson and did not pay attention at all? Yes. Was it worth it. Absolutely.
> 
> I have to say this though, before this I had already planned out what was going to happen. However, I am having trouble coming up with something interesting for Ruby and Sapphire's arc. Suggestions are highly welcome! Once again constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Next up, a familiar pair consisting of a lesbian water witch with her damn gay dorito.


	4. Stuck in a tub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its now Lapis Lazuli's turn to feel the effects of the disease. Maybe a certain green gem could help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is highly appreciated :)

“Lapis Lazuli's are a unique case indeed. When infected by the disease their gemstones begin to dry up, losing the water content in their gemstones. This can be very serious. If the gemstones lose too much water it may result in flaking of the gemstone to even severe cracking. During this time, Lapis Lazuli’s seem to lose their ability to form their water wings due to the lack of water within the gem, do note that their hydrokinetic powers are not compromised. The best solution is to soak the gemstone in cold, fresh water.” 

The itch on her back was getting more and more unbearable as the hours passed. It was taking all of Lapis Lazuli’s willpower to prevent herself from scratching her gemstone. Lapis groaned as her hands clutched the sides of the bathtub she was in. The powerful water gem, the gem that could move entire oceans. The gem that could mold liquid and bend it to her desire. The gem that could fly from planet to planet just by the use of her wings alone. This same gem is now confined to a room in a barn, stuck in a bathtub that was just big enough for her to lay in. It hurts her pride that she needs someone to wait on her, let alone trouble her partner with taking care of her. 

As if right on cue, the door to the bathroom was kicked open by a small, green gem. Peridot struggled to carry the bulky buckets of water through the door. Eventually, Peridot was able to place the buckets beside the bathtub. 

“How are you holding up Lazuli?” Peridot asked, concerned about Lapis' well-being. Lapis was the one of the first gems that started to feel symptoms of the virus since she had been helping a lot of gems with preparing for the lockdown and hence, had tired herself out. Even though Peridot probably carries the virus, she has not shown any symptoms that she was honestly dreading. 

“I probably sound like a clod for saying this but my gemstone feels super uncomfortable right now,” Lapis replied dryly. “You don’t need to worry about me too much though, I’ll be fine,” Lapis added with a lazy smile. 

“Hey that’s my word,” Peridot retorted. “Then again, I can’t stop myself from worrying. Are you sure you feel alright? I could stop my research and just stay here you know...” Peridot had been keeping herself busy with experimenting with different little inventions. The gremlin had come up with fascinating creations. From trackers to predict when a gem would poof to little patches that radiate pulses of heat to help with pains. She even tried coming up with a replacement for sea salt due to a very interesting bit of trivia she had found during her research that she hated with a burning passion. Peridot went on a 2-hour long rant on how impossible it is to use salt to soothe a gemstone and Lapis was there to listen to it all. 

“Hmm, come to think of it,” Lapis began. “Woe is me! I feel as if I could shatter at any moment-” Lapis placed her hand on her forehead dramatically as she recited one of the lines she heard at the human play she watched. “-Peri my dear, save me!” Lapis began to splash some water at Peridot which made her giggle. Seeing Peridot erupt into fits of laughter Lapis broke character and began to laugh along. 

“Even when sick you can still come up with something as cloddy as that,” Peridot removed her visor and wiped the water from her face. “Seriously Lazuli. How is your gemstone doing?” 

Lapis stopped her laughing and turned her head as if she could see her gemstone. “It’s just annoying, it hurts yet it itches. Plus, it keeps flaking;” Lapis reached back to try and touch her gemstone, resulting in some of the water from the tub to slosh out. 

“Stop scratching Lazuli, you trying to reach your gem is just making all the water leak out. Speaking of water,” Peridot began to drain the tub. 

“Not again...” Lapis groaned. 

“Sorry Lapis, the water turning warm is probably why your gemstone is acting up,” Peridot lifted one of the buckets and began to dump the water into the tub. Lapis shivered as the cold water made contact with her warm skin. She absolutely hated it and began to tense up from the cold. 

“If it helps, I have something that could help with the flaking,” Peridot dumped 2 more buckets of water into the tub before leaving the room. She returned with a brush in hand. Lapis gave Peridot a confused look. “You gonna brush my hair with that? I doubt this theory of yours is gonna help Peri,” 

“Sit up Lazuli, I’m gonna remove the flakes.” Lapis did as instructed, back facing Peridot. 

“You sure you know what you are doing?” Lapis questioned. 

Peridot made a face. “How dare you question me Lazuli. I’ll have you know that I am a certified Kindergartener and I am well informed about all the different gem variants,” Peridot brushed Lapis’ gemstone and earned a gasp from the blue gem. 

“I also happen to be very experienced in handling gemstones.” Peridot sniggered as Lapis let out sigh’s of content into Peridot’s touch. Peridot began to brush the gemstone slowly, carefully removing the flakes as she went. 

“Never brush against the flaking; follow the direction which in your case, is from top to bottom.” Peridot explained as she continued to remove the flakes. Lapis began to melt into Peridot’s touch. The golden flakes fell into the tub as Peridot’s skillful fingers paired with the brush in her hand cleaned the gemstone. 

“Remind me to repay you once I can leave this tub,” Lapis commented. 

“There is no need for that Lazuli. Just catch up on our cuddle time,” Peridot answered back 

Lapis let out a laugh. “Alright Peri, alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the radio silence! I had a few technical difficulties (aka this and the rest of the chapters getting deleted from my device) I had been trying to re write the chapter and I decided to not release it first since the chapter after this was planned to be much longer. (I say about twice as long as this chapter) This definitely isn't as good as the original draft I had since I had much more time to draft it out and this chapter is hence shorter then it was supposed to be. To that I once again I apologise. I can't say when the next update is but I will try to update it as fast as I can.
> 
> With that being said I might rewrite this once I get all the chapters out.


	5. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looks like its now Peridot's turn to feel a little off. Okay, maybe more than a little.
> 
> Trigger warning: Nightmares
> 
> I promise the ending is happy I swear!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N My hand slipped...and a 2K+ word Lapidot fic is now born. Did I waste all my time writing ONE chapter instead of spacing it out with the next 2 chapters I need to write? Maybe.
> 
> Constructive criticism is highly appreciated :D

“Peridots like myself seem to get the short end of the stick. That was a human phrase thought to me by Steven. Anyways, the gemstones itself are usually unaffected and it takes longer for the effects of the virus to set in. Victims have been known to have terrible nightmares, feelings of discomfort even though nothing is wrong physically or even having heightened emotions. Such notions are...unsettling and this serves as a reminder to myself to get more rest and to ice my gem to numb it.” 

The greenhouse was filled with plants of all shapes and sizes. Going from large ferns basking under the sun in the corner to the tiny succulents on neat racks. Amongst the plants there was a workbench with papers sprawled across the table with complicated formulas and diagrams. Peridot hunched over the table. Despite the colorful flora around her the air was ominous and quiet. She looked up from her work as the door opened, a familiar blacksmith stepped in while avoiding eye contact with the little technician. 

“Bismuth! How are you feeling today?” Peridot got up from her chair and happily skipped over to her friend. 

“Bis?” Bismuth looked at the ground, fists clenched as she looked down at the ground. Peridot bent over to try and make eye contact with the burly gem in front of her. Bismuth looked up from the ground, her eyes fixed on the green gem in front of her angrily. 

“Bis are you okay you don’t- “ 

“This is all your fault!” Peridot was cut short by Bismuth's outburst. Bismuth began to take steps forward, making Peridot back up. 

“Wha- what do you mean? Bismuth cut it out you’re freaking me out- “Peridot fell over with a thud. She quickly began to shuffle backwards once she noticed that Bismuth was still advancing. Peridot began to sweat nervously as she her back hit one of the glass walls. Bismuth’s hand shape shifted into a huge hammer as she raised her arm. Peridot’s eyes widened at the sight. 

“Uhm uh- LOOK! ANOTHER GEM TO BE ANGRY AT! “Peridot pointed to a rack against the wall and pushed pass Bismuth. She bolted out of the greenhouse and ran to the warp pad in the middle of Little Homeworld. There was a crowd of gems gathered around the warp pad, familiar faces like Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet could be made out from the crowd. 

“Guys! Bismuth’s gone berserk! She tried to shatter me- “Peridot felt herself being grabbed by the arm. She let out a cry as she tried to pry herself free from the grasp of a pair of Quartz soldiers. 

“Wah- Hey let me go! Guys help!” Peridot cried out as she pulled against the restraints. Peridot was dragged to the center of the crowd and was thrown onto the floor at the foot of the warp pad. Peridot winced as her skin grazed against the coarse dirt. Peridot sat up and looked around, angry faces surrounded her with weapons being aimed at her. 

“Shatter this incompetent Peridot!” 

“She doomed us all!” 

“Such a brag, now she’s the reason gem kind is dead” 

Peridot whisked her head around; she was so confused and the angry shouts were not helping. 

“What did I do? I didn’t do anything!” Peridot pleaded for someone to tell her what was going on. She felt a fist connect with her face and she fell onto the ground. She felt her visor crack and fall in front of her. Peridot groaned in pain while trying to sit herself back up. She looked up to see a beam of light crash down onto the warp pad. 

“STEVEN!” There he was. Steven stood in front of Peridot and began to close the distance between them. 

“Free her.” Steven ordered. The Quartz soldiers let her go and Peridot scrambled to reach for her visor. As she managed to reach out for her visor, she felt a sharp pain. Steven stomped his foot onto Peridot's hand and her visor. Peridot cried out in pain as the shards cut into her palm while Steven was crushing her hand with his foot. 

Steven lifted his foot and Peridot withdrew her hand in pain. Peridot glanced down her ruined hands and then back to Steven. Peridot fought down a whimper and tried to stand. 

“Steven please! What’s going on, I beg you just tell me!” Peridot cried out as she stumbled over to Steven, looking around at all the gems surrounding her. 

“YOU failed to find a cure. YOU doomed us all. Now YOU will pay the price. Bring her in!” Steven stepped of the warp pad and shoved Peridot away. Peridot let out a grunt as she collided with the floor. Another beam of light shot down from the sky, leaving a single gem once it disappeared. There she stood, Lapis Lazuli. The blue gem looked directly at Peridot, arms limp with her feet planted to the ground. 

“Lapis!” Peridot faught through the pain and stumbled over to Lapis, wrapping her arms around her torso and burrowing her face into her chest. “Please help me. I swear I tried my best...stars I swear by the diamond’s name I have tried...” Peridot continued to pleas with Lapis as her breathing became more and more sporadic, her arms trembling as they wrapped around Lapis for dear life. 

Peridot felt something wet grab her from behind. Before she could register it, she felt herself getting torn away from Lapis as water digits surrounded her entire body. Peridot saw herself getting raised higher and higher from the ground while the gems around her cheered Lapis on. 

“You really are useless...” With that statement, Lapis raised both her hands, aiming them straight at Peridot. Peridot felt herself being crushed by the two water appendages. She let out a pained cry as she felt her form slowly begin to destabilize. Peridot closed her eyes shut, trying to focus on not poofing. She had to stay strong. She was innocent. She did not fail everyone. She- 

Peridot opened her eyes to find herself in a pitch-black void. She glanced around, trying to get her bearings. 

“He-hello? Anyone?” Peridot’s voice echoed back at her, seemingly creating an endless loop of her words. 

“Lapis? Steven?” Peridot let out a whimper as her words bounced around the void, constantly nagging back at her. 

“Lapis?” 

“Steven?” 

“Lapis?” 

“Steven?” 

“SHUT IT YOU CLOD!” 

“SHUT IT YOU CLOD!” 

Tears threatened to fall as Peridot tried to stand. She was airborne yet not. The void was confusing and eerie, the dark, endless surroundings with her voice echoing back at her – each time getting louder and somehow sounding harsher by the second. 

“YOU failed to find a cure!” Peridot let out a scream when she heard the somewhat familiar voice. It was Steven, yet not. His gentle and kind voice replaced with a fierce shout. 

“YOU doomed us all!” Peridot whipped her head around. The voices seem to come from everywhere. 

“Now YOU will pay the price!” Peridot cowered in fear. 

“Bring her in!” Peridot buried her face into her hands 

“You really are useless...” Peridot recognized that voice. She pictured Lapis standing there, not even bothering to look at her. Surely this is fake. Lapis would never do that. 

Right? 

Peridot’s mind began to wander. What is she really was a good for nothing? Maybe she was a failure. Her friends...what is she failed? What would the rest think? Amethyst? Pearl? Garnet? Bismuth? Steven? Lapis? Could she have failed them all? Peridot crouched down, hands pulling her hair tightly as she let out a sob. The voices were getting louder and louder, their tone getting harsher as they seemed to come from everywhere. What was going to happen? What is happening? Peridot let out a loud cry- 

“Peridot...” Peridot whipped her head up. Lapis? She could definitely recognize that voice. 

“Lapis? Lapis please-” Peridot looked around trying to find her. What if this was another trick? What if she was stuck here forever? 

“LAPIS!” 

“GAH!” Peridot felt her head hit the ground as her eyes began to open. Her vision was blurry and her gemstone was extremely uncomfortable. The room appeared to be spinning and the colors in front of her seem to mesh together into a messy blur. Peridot blinked her eyes and her vision began to clear. 

“Peri!” Peridot let out a scream as she stumbled backwards. She felt her back hit a wall and she winced from the pain. She looked around the room, a hammock was suspended above her and she seemed to be in a corner of the barn. What scared her the most though, was the gem in front of her. 

“Peridot it's me...” A blue hand reached out to Peridot’s shaking form. Peridot flinched at the movement and quickly brought her knees up to her chest. “Stay- Stay away from me!” Peridot’s voice cracked as she let out a sob. She buried her head into her knees as her arms hugged her own body for dear life. 

“Peri...look at me, please?” Lapis pleaded as she shifted closer to the cowering gem. Lapis took Peridot’s clenched fist into her own hand as she ran her thumb over her knuckles. Peridot slowly looked up and was greeted by a reassuring smile from Lapis. 

“See? I'm right here, there's no-” Lapis was cut short when she felt herself getting tackled by the small blonde. Peridot began to bawl as she buried her face into Lapis chest while she clawed at Lapis' back desperately. 

“They said- They said I failed everyone. You were there you-” Peridot struggled to form coherent sentences as she continued to cry into Lapis’ chest. 

“Shh... I know, I know. You were projecting your dream. It's okay, you are safe now.” Lapis ran her hands across Peridot’s back, rubbing small circles as an effort to try and calm her down. It hurt Lapis to see Peridot like this, the confidant, bubbly gremlin of a gem was now reduced to a shivering mess. Peridot’s sporadic breathing began to slow as she nuzzled Lapis, picking at her gemstone and nibbling at her thumb at an attempt to calm herself. 

“If only I was a Peridot and you were a Lapis Lazuli, I would trade places if it was possible.” 

“Really?” 

“Anything that would help,” 

“Maybe being a Lapis Lazuli isn’t that bad” 

“Sure, but you would be the shortest Lapis in existence.” Lapis laughed at her own joke as she felt a punch from the gem she was hugging. 

“You clod... being a Lapis sure would be cool.” 

“Yea it's pretty cool, but it's still only my second favorite type of gem,” 

“Why second?” 

“I’m definitely biased to Peridots” 

“Really?” Peridot could not help but smile at Lapis’ attempt at flirting. 

“Nah. My favorite is definitely Amethyst.” Lapis replied dryly. Peridot tackled Lapis once again as they erupted into fits of laughter. 

“Feeling better?” Lapis asked as she brushed a few stray hairs from Peridot’s face. 

“A little, thanks Lazuli.” Peridot leaned forward to give Lapis a kiss. 

“Don’t thank me yet, there’s still 3 things I need to do,” Lapis shifted herself and Peridot, lifting Peridot with her arms as she began to stand. 

“What 3 things?” Peridot asked. 

“Firstly,’ Lapis began. “I’m gonna help with your gemstone.” Lapis sat Peridot onto their shared hammock. With a wave of her hand a small amount of water from the pool outside zipped right into the barn. Lapis directed the water onto Peridot’s gemstone, surrounding it in water. 

“Lapis? What’s going on?” Peridot reached for her gemstone before getting stopped by Lapis. 

“Just let me take care of you baby, this is gonna feel weird at first but trust me okay?” Lapis brought Peridot’s hand back down before focusing on the delicate gemstone in front of her. She squinted her eyes and focused on the water. Peridot felt the water solidifying around the edges of her gemstone, before she knew it a small block of ice formed onto her gemstone. It was definitely overwhelming at first. The ice felt heavy on her gemstone and the cold made her shiver uncontrollably. 

“Lapis this feels weird...” Peridot whined as she grabbed onto Lapis. 

“It's alright Peri, give it awhile,” Lapis climbed into the hammock and laid herself and Peridot down, with Lapis behind the smaller gem. 

Lapis began to brush through Peridot’s messy, blonde hair, running her fingers up and down her scalp. Lapis used one of her water hands to grab a blanket that had fallen onto the floor earlier and draped it over herself and more importantly, Peridot. She extended her water hand further to fiddle with the record player they had. After a quick change of disks, the device began to emit soft, gentle tunes from the soundtrack of Camp Pining Hearts. Lapis began to retract her water hand, but not before grabbing a familiar alien plushie and handing it to Peridot. 

Peridot hugged the alien plush and nuzzled under the crook of Lapis’ neck while pulling the blankets tightly against her skin. After a while, Peridot stopped shaking and tried to get comfortable. The cold on her gemstone began to feel more soothing than uncomfortable and she relaxed her tense form.  
“How does that feel?” Lapis asked as she attempted to comb down Peridot’s disheveled hair with her fingers. 

“Amazing...Lazuli,” Peridot slurred as she melted into Lapis’ touch. Within minutes Peridot began to let out sighs of content and began to...purr? It was something Lapis took notice of during their time together, Peridot would unknowingly purr when comfortable and Lapis took it as a sign that she was doing her job well. 

“Hehe you’re purring,” Lapis giggled and booped Peridot on the nose. 

“Huh? I'm not...” Peridot whined and let out a yawn. 

“If you say so,” Lapis replied in a singsong voice. “Take a nap sweetie, it will help.” 

“I’m not,” Peridot yawned, “sleepy...” 

Lapis hummed along with the gentle Camp Pining Hearts song in the background while stroking Peridot’s hair. “Now that I’ve completed 2 of the things I needed to do, I can focus on the third.” 

*What’s that?” Peridot asked, lifting her head up to look at Lapis. 

“To take care of you and make sure you get your rest,” Lapis smiled. “As a bonus, we get to catch up on that cuddle time you asked for.” Lapis leaned down and left a kiss on Peridot’s cheek. At this point Peridot was too tired to argue. Instead, she accepted her current fate and clutched her alien plushie tightly while letting a few more contented sighs (and purrs) escape her mouth. 

“Maybe this whole gem sickness isn't that bad…love you Peri~” Lapis didn’t get a verbal response, rather, she felt Peridot hug her torso tighter as a thanks. Soon, the two gems began to drift off into sleep, this time filled with pleasant dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun one to write, I plan to re-write this as a stand alone oneshot fic. Peridot deserves all the cuddles in the world :). 
> 
> Up next is our favourite Ruby and Sapphire duo. The next update may take a little longer since my laptop and phone are just... dying on me right now. Hence, this fic is going to be on short hiatus till I can get my shit together.
> 
> P/S I renamed this fic and the chapters. Yes this was originally "Gem Disease". I changed it since 1) It sounded similar to another fic's title and 2) I just like "Disease Stricken" better.

**Author's Note:**

> Boom! Second fic on this platform. As always constructive criticism is highly appreciated :D


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